


An Exploration of Tocqueville’s Analysis of Capitalism and Socialism, and How They Relate to the American Experience

by plutodolohov



Series: school work [5]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Essay, Gen, Other, Political Philosophy, Politics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 01:48:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29252496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plutodolohov/pseuds/plutodolohov
Summary: This is something I wrote on February 2, 2020 for the class Foundations of Democracy.
Series: school work [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2145501





	1. Chapter 1

Many people in the past have attempted to define what made America so great; even today, people are trying to do so. Alexis de Tocqueville was one of these people. He toured the United States while it was still in its toddler-stage, and commented on the state of affairs as he saw it, creating what is now one of the most famous criticisms of the American state ever. One aspect he noted in his travels was the way democracy affected industry and the creation of goods: he predicted a rise in capitalism and materialism that stemmed from the very core of democracy; he saw no place for socialism in American democracy. However, in modern day, socialism has seen a rise in popularity, contrary to Tocqueville’s views. Thus the question must be asked: does this rise in socialism come from a cyclical route that Tocqueville was unable to see in his lifetime, or a fluke that will soon be overtaken by the capitalist ideals of America as Tocqueville predicts? 

To begin a discussion of capitalism versus socialism, the two terms must first be defined. Capitalism, as a social system, is “social harmony through the pursuit of self-interest,” (Theory) which means that each person in the economy pursues only what they want, not thinking of others’ wants. While this may seem paradoxical, according to the philosophy, the “individual's pursuit of his own economic self-interest simultaneously benefits the economic self-interests of all others” (Theory). This concept of working on the self to benefit the whole of society is, Tocqueville argues, already prevalent in society through the idea of individualism. He claims that the early Americans had individualism, or the “reflective and peaceable sentiment that disposes each citizen to isolate himself from the mass of those like him” (Tocqueville 482). Individualism makes people withdraw into themselves and become more self-interested, which also fosters the grounds for capitalism. In the theory of capitalism, the methodology is self-interest, and as individualism promotes self-interest, it also promotes capitalism. Thus, capitalism was already in the blood of the people by the process of individualism, and feeds into the idea of individualism: if we already are self-interested, then the things we create will answer that interest and create a self-aggrandizing bubble. But what made individualism enticing? Tocqueville states that it was not a conscious choice to employ individualism, but one that arose from the equality of conditions that democracies foster. Equality of conditions refers to the levelling of the classes through a long period of time, or the jointly-agreed abolishment of the aristocracy in favor of a more equal state of men, better known as democracy. Democracy embraces the idea of individualism due to it’s removal of a supreme power, such as a king; the people then “owe nothing to anyone [...]; they are in the habit of always considering themselves in isolation,” (Tocqueville 484) thereby automatically turning their focus inwards. In that isolated moment, Tocqueville asserts that “the care of satisfying the needs of the body and of providing the smallest comforts of life preoccupies minds universally,” (Tocqueville 506) meaning that Americans are always listening to their own bodies and fulfilling every small want they have: this constant desire is an example of individualism in action. With the constant self-interest comes then a never-ending source of dissatisfaction, and due to that dissatisfaction, there is never a time to devote to higher matters of the soul as the aristocrats due. The American people are drawn again and again to materialism, with the need to build and sell small items for their attention; then, they live the very definition of capitalism: a creation of things to fulfill their self-interest. Thus, Tocqueville calls the Americans materialistic, and predicts that the materialism will continue and only get grander. 

However, the call for socialism, or, since Karl Marx’s ideas were not yet written, the predecessors to socialist ideas still held some sway. With the founders of the nation well versed in ancient writings, there are Platonian influences in the core documents of the nation. The idea that all men are equal is, at its core, a uniquely socialist idea that stems from the ancient Athenians, whom the Founding Fathers would have studied. Even without those influences in the beginning, there were many different attempts in the early 1800s at what is now called utopian socialism. The socialist ideas of workers owning the factories and produce were attempted by some, and led to the creation of small towns that quickly died out as money became scarce. Though the Industrial Revoltion was ending at about the time Tocqueville was visiting the United States, and worker’s conditions were not the best, the conditions were not as bad as Europe’s wage labor due the slavery that was still highly present in America. There was also a large number of cottage industries still occurring in the 1830s, as the Industrialization had not fully kicked off the same way it would forty years later; “small parts of a larger production process were carried out in numerous individual homes,” (Economic) helping the workers and overall factory seem closer together, a socialist idea. Why then, if socialism was ingrained in the beginnings of America, did it never take off? According to Seymour Lipset and Gary Marks for the New York Times, although there were the “Workingmen's parties [which] attacked the major parties for their lack of interest in labor and proposed a variety of reforms to upgrade workers' social, economic, and legal position,” (NY Times) these parties soon died out by the time of the Jacksonian administration. The Democrats began to take notice of these early socialist ideas, and incorporated them into the agenda for themselves, removing the need for a separate labor party. The socialist ideas were then slowly ignored in favor of other matters, and soon were forgotten entirely. Even looking at it from the idea of individualism, the theory behind socialism requires that all men work for the greater good, bypassing self-interest. However, since equality of conditions fosters individualism, or the lauding of self-interest, socialism was doomed from the start as being definitively anti-American at the time. Thus, the socialist movement in the 1830s had a sizable backing at first as workers and laborers attempted to gain some rights, but as the larger political parties began to adopt and resolve the issues the workers were facing, the need for socialism declined. 

Looking forward 100 years, Toccqueville’s predictions about the rise of materialism and the inability of it came true. The 1920s were a time of massive opulence and wealth, and were aptly nicknamed the roaring 20s. Even looking at a board-game from the time, the 1920s version of the game Life was very monetary in its approach, with making the most amount of money being the goal, a philosophy that mirrored how many lived life at the time (Kurtzleben). The cause of this massive influx of wealth was the the expansion of credit to more buyers, which allowed many to afford things that they once would not have been able; there were also the effects of a booming war time economy: consumerism hit all time highs as more and more people spent money they didn’t have or became wealthy quickly through business like oil and factory-industry (Khan Academy). The biggest indicator of the new consumerist society was the automotive industry. The once luxury of owning a car was now made possible to the average family; it cost “less than three months wages for an average American worker” (Digital History) to buy a car, and helped yield in more profit for the economy at large, because now, that same family had access to many more stores. The automobile became the staple of the 1920s with its overarching affordability. In addition to the credit and new automobile, consumerism was highlighted by the massive amounts of advertising that was put out, beating what had previously been invested: “By 1929, American companies spent $3 billion annually to advertise their products - five times more than the amount spent on advertising in 1914” (Digital History). The consumerist economy focused on the small needs of the people, fulfilling Tocqueveille’s earlier assessment that Americans are entirely self-interested. By spending more on advertising and then pulling in “psychologists (including John B. Watson, the founder of behaviorism, and Edward Bernays, Sigmund Freud's nephew) to design the first campaigns,” (Digital History) the American people were shoehorned into the cycle of capitalism. Thus, the predictions Tocqueville made about capitalism becoming the prominent force came true due to the cycle of individualism and consumerism.  
Aside from the booming capitalist society, Tocqueville’s prediction about socialism and socialist ideas did not pan out the way he had envisioned entirely, however. There was a rise of socialists in the early 1900s, with Eugene Debs creating and leading the new Socialist Party. The rise of this philosophy came from the teaching of Karl Marx being more widely spread across nations, as well as the access to a college education being widened. Since universities were seen as academic breeding grounds, many of those who joined or believed in the socialist movement were younger and more in tune with the grandiosity of Americans of the time as well as the worker’s plight as more and more people were overworked and conditions approached more horrific levels. Even as people spent more, the wage labor jobs in factories that fueled the consumerist mindset became harsher and harsher, leading to the horrific working conditions talked about when discussing the rise to a more socialist society. 

However, the main difference between what Marx had envisioned happening and what occurred in America was the absorption of ideas into the main political spectrum. While Marx envisioned a political overturning by the proletariat, the actuality was that the proletariat was molded by the existing parties. While the Socialistparty never made a name for itself by itself, their ideas were slowly absorbed again by the other left-wing parties of the political spectrum, and eventually found their spotlight on the Democratic reforms that brought us “social reform programs like Social Security and Medicare [...] [which have] over time [ become] a well-accepted part of American society” (History.com). The influence of socilaist ideas has been central to many of the most lauded programs in American history, but the rise of an actual socialist party was hindered by the American idea that a democratic socilist country would only end up communist. The stigma against socialism and all forms of it resulted in the Red Scare in multiple parts of the 1900s, the most prevalent in late 1960s, when the United States was embroiled in its proxy wars in Vietnam; it was during this time that the now-prevalent notion of socialism being an anti-American concept arose due to the fight against communism around the world. Thus, the concept of socialism was unable to take root in America even in the 1920s due to the increased consumerism and spending that came from a deeply rooted individualism. 

While the idea of socialism still scares many today due to lingering connotations, there is much more support for the socialist ideas. Bernie Sanders, America’s foremost, self-proclaimed democratic socialist, has garnered much more support in the past few years as more and more Americans embrace socialism - or rather a more bastardized version of it, democratic socialism. According to polls, socialism no longer refers to state-owned production. Instead people define it as “equal standing for everybody, all equal in rights, equal in distribution,” adding a more democratic aspect to the platform. This new definition has shown to be actionable as in 2016, Bernie Sanders won 39% of the vote (Gass and Gabriel), and in 2018, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, won a seat in Congress, and almost immediately attempted to pass the Green New Deal, an environment pact that would “wean the United States from fossil fuels and curb planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions across the economy. It also aims to guarantee new high-paying jobs in clean energy industries” (Friedman). The bill gained major support for its addressing of a problem the current administration is unwilling to properly address. Additionally, the nomination for the Democratic party has been hotly pursued, as Bernie Sanders stands at 23%, while Elizabeth Warren follows close behind (RealClearPolitics). Thus, socialism is becoming a new power in the race, with the earlier stigmatism falling away thanks to the new, modern definition. The individualism that was present in earlier generations is not present in newer ones, who look to the future and look more at the fate of humankind than focusing on themselves. Along with the decrease in individualism, the idea of capitalism has deteriorated. The unemployment rate is the lowest in decades, a record 3.9% in July 2018, and the stock market is booming; however, wages have stayed stagnant as inflation has increased the prices. According to the Pew Research Center, “today’s real average wage (that is, the wage after accounting for inflation) has about the same purchasing power it did 40 years ago,” (DeSilver) meaning that people are fundamentally poorer than before. As the market shifts in favor of the wealthiest one percent, and people are no longer self-interested and instead care more for the overall well-being, the idea of socialism gains traction and gains support. Tocqueville claimed that capitalism would beat out socialism due the emphasis on individualism in America. However, he did not forsee individualism to begin to decline; maybe then, socialism was a much longer process that stems from capitalism: whereas Marx attempted socialism without its capitalist predecessor, and capitalists attempt to keep socialism at bay, the true cycle may be that capitalism leads into socialism over a long period of time unforeseen. This may be true, but only time will tell: there is not enough evidence or experience in either field to make a definitive answer; after all, most major socialist ploys have failed in the United States, yet their elements such as Social Security which stem from a socialist mindset have become staple American ideals. Thus, America may simply be on the way to a full socialist - that is, equal - path as it continues to sway in favor of democratic socialism, as the decrease in individualism suggests. However, it may have also dug its own grave due to the individualism that is inherent in democracy taking over once again and driving public sentiment back towards the self.


	2. Works Cited

“Theory.” Capitalism FAQ: Theory, www2.harpercollege.edu/mhealy/eco211f/lectures/captism/capit-2.html.

“Economic Growth and the Early Industrial Revolution.” Ushistory.org, Independence Hall Association, www.ushistory.org/us/22a.asp.  
The New York Times, The New York Times, movies2.nytimes.com/books/first/l/lipset-here.html.

Kurtzleben, Danielle. “Four Things the Game of Life Finally Learned about the Economy.” Vox, Vox, 18 Jan. 2015, www.vox.com/2015/1/18/7546473/four-things-the-game-of-life-finally-learned-about-the-economy. 

“1920s Consumption (Article) | 1920s America.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/rise-to-world-power/1920s-america/a/1920s-consumption.

Digital History, www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=3396.

History.com Editors. “Socialism.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 10 Oct. 2019, www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution/socialism.  
Gass, Nick, and Gabriel Debenedetti. “Sanders Bests Clinton in New Early State Polls.” POLITICO, 12 Jan. 2016, www.politico.com/story/2016/01/bernie-sanders-poll-surge-217634.

Friedman, Lisa. “What Is the Green New Deal? A Climate Proposal, Explained.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Feb. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/02/21/climate/green-new-deal-questions-answers.html?auth=login-google.

“Election 2020 - 2020 Democratic Presidential Nomination.” RealClearPolitics, www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/2020_democratic_presidential_nomination-6730.html.

DeSilver, Drew. “For Most Americans, Real Wages Have Barely Budged for Decades.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 7 Aug. 2018, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/08/07/for-most-us-workers-real-wages-have-barely-budged-for-decades/.

Tocqueville, Alexis de. Democracy in America. Edited by Harvey C. Mansfield. Translated by Delba Winthrop, University of Chicago Press, 2000


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